


I Wasn't In Any Club Last Night

by CookieDoughMe



Series: Fake phone number [1]
Category: Haven (TV)
Genre: M/M, Prompt Fic, Someone gave me a fake phone number and it’s actually yours, and other people in hospital, duke and nathan play pool, homophobia-free AU, reference to a traffic accident, trouble-free AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-27
Updated: 2017-08-27
Packaged: 2018-12-20 12:05:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 8,346
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11920536
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CookieDoughMe/pseuds/CookieDoughMe
Summary: Inspired by the last prompt onthis list: Someone gave me a fake phone number and it’s actually yoursTrouble-free AU in which Nathan's life is otherwise much the same, Duke’s too although he grew up a few towns down the coast. Audrey is nowhere to be seen, because without the Troubles she never comes to Haven.Also, I realised recently that without thinking about it I tend to write everything in an AU where homophobia doesn’t really exist. So I don’t know if that makes this a little less realistic in some respects, but … *shrugs*





	1. Chapter 1

It was the end of the day (past the end of the day, really), and Nathan was alone in his office in an almost-empty station, appreciating the quiet as he tried to catch up on some paperwork in this frustrating computer system that always seemed to take an age to process or load anything.

When his cell phone rang, he was grateful for the excuse to turn away from the screen, though he didn't recognise the number that was calling, or the voice when he answered. 

“Hi, it's Duke,” said the voice, and Nathan didn't recognise the name either, though the voice clearly expected him to. He hesitated; he was usually good with names, but had he forgotten someone?

“We met last night. In the club,” the voice was saying, and Nathan was kind of relieved it wasn't him.

“I wasn't in any club last night,” he said, adding, “Sorry.”

“Are you sure?” Duke asked.

Surprised, Nathan laughed. “I think I would have remembered,” he pointed out amiably. He glanced back at his screen, typed a couple of words and clicked ‘Next’ - looked like that was going to take a while.

He half heard a muttered exclamation through the phone, picking up the words ‘bastard’ and ‘fake number’ and ‘no respect’. He was considering hanging up and leaving the guy to his outrage, when the voice turned back to the phone again.

“Would you like to meet tonight then?” Duke asked.

Surprised again, Nathan huffed out a little reaction and then added, “I don't really do clubs.”

“Oh? What do you do?”

“I ... “ Nathan ran through a list of possible responses in his head, which included simply hanging up on this stranger who could be anyone. But he glanced back at the screen which was still struggling to load the next page, and figured he might as well say something.

“... There's a bar in town. Decent pool table.”

“A pool player? Then we should definitely meet.”

Without really planning to, Nathan found himself asking, “You play?”

“Do I play? Yeah now and then,” said Duke in a way which implied he rarely did anything else. “Where do I find this bar then?”

Nathan hesitated, but reasoning that he wasn't committing to anything, told him, “Centre of town, bottom of the hill. Called The Rust Bucket.”

“Interesting name. You going to be there tonight?”

Nathan hadn't planned on it. He had another hour or so of work to do and then he was going to go home and lounge around with a book. Probably. But he had been lacking in decent pool opponents recently, and there was something about this voice in his ear that made him wonder who it belonged to. “Are you?” he asked. He could practically hear Duke grin down the phone.

“I am now. I'll be there from 8pm.”

Nathan hummed an acknowledgement, but he still wasn't sure what he was going to do.

“Will I see you there?” Duke asked.

“I don't even know your name,” hedged Nathan, not quite truthfully.

“Duke. Duke Crocker.”

Nathan scribbled the name on a spare bit of paper and clicked open a new window that would let him run a background check.

“Are you going to tell me yours?” Duke asked.

Nathan felt that the sensible thing to do would be to hang up and avoid the bar for a week. He had no idea who this person was, no real idea how he'd got hold of his number, or what he was actually after. Nathan wasn't a big risk taker as a rule. He’d generally prefer safe and calm to risky and exciting. But, there was something about this voice that was intriguing, and which also did not sound as though it really wanted to do him any real harm.

“Nathan,” he said. “I'm Nathan.”


	2. Chapter 2

It was an hour later and most of the paperwork he'd needed to get done, was done. Nathan sat at his desk, the scribbled note that read _Duke Crocker_ in his hand and the window he'd opened thinking about a background check, still empty on the screen in front of him.

As a cop, running a check on someone's name was routine; it was something he'd done hundreds of times. As a person responding to an invitation to meet for a drink, it was perhaps less usual, and he hesitated, trying to work out his thought process.

Nathan loved his job and he didn't mind working hard in order to he effective at it. He'd lived here all his life, he'd grown up as the Chief of Police's son, he knew the town well and he wanted to look after it. What that meant though, was that he was rarely completely off duty. Even when he was theoretically on leave, people knew who he was, they would ask him about things, and if something happened he couldn't help but step in. He was always in cop mode when he was out.

And now here was someone who didn't appear to know Haven that well, and had probably never heard of him or his father. Someone who knew nothing about him other than his first name and the sound of his voice. Someone who wanted to meet up with him on that basis. He could go home, get changed into something casual and hang out with someone who didn't even know he was a cop.

His careful and risk-adverse side wanted to know who this stranger was before he had a beer with him. But, he was realistic enough to know that background checks could be misleading. And it also occurred to him that it would hardly to fair to turn up with that level of knowledge when Duke didn't even know his surname.

He closed the empty window and turned off the computer; the decision made. Just then his phone beeped and showed him a photo of a bottle of beer and the message _[ what r u drinking? ]_

He smiled and decided to take it as a sign. But he got his things together and made his way to the Bronco before replying. No sense in seeming too eager. Especially given his place was on the way to the bar, and it wouldn't take him long to get changed.

_[ that looks good. be there in 20. ]_

-

It wasn't until he got to the bar that Nathan realised they had no way to identify each other. But in the end, there was only one man there on his own with two bottles of beer in front of him.

“Would you be Duke?”

He was reading a copy of the Haven Herald and for half a second he didn't react, while he finished the sentence he was reading, presumably. Then he looked up all of a sudden, and Nathan took in the warm brown eyes that seemed to look right into him. He apparently changed his mind about whatever he'd been about to say, taking a moment to look Nathan over instead.

“You look … surprised?” Nathan ventured. “Disappointed? Regretting inviting me already?”

“Hardly,” replied Duke with feeling, and put the paper away as Nathan sat down. “Surprised would be fair - pleasantly surprised. I mean, you could have been anyone.”

“I still could be,” Nathan pointed out seriously.

“hmmm, well. I think I'll take my chances.”

They both reached for their beers, Nathan holding his up to say Thanks, Duke moving forward to click the bottles together, and somehow in trying to do two different things at once they managed to click both the bottoms and tops of the bottles against each other. Nathan took a long gulp; he hadn't tried this particular one before and it was good.

“So which club were you in?” he asked.

“Oh, what was it called ... in Bangor, by the …”

“There's only one club in Bangor,” said Nathan, to save Duke the trouble of trying to remember.

“Ah. You know it then?”

“I've been a few times, though not for years. Always found it a bit … much.”

“So you’ve always lived round here then?”

“Pretty much. Went away to college, but I always planned to come back. What brings you to town?”

“I'm making my way along the coast. I grew up an hour or so from here. I’ve been away travelling and I wanted to come back to Maine, but I didn't want to go back there.”

Realising Duke didn't want to talk about his hometown, Nathan offered a general, “There's something comforting about the familiar.”

“hmm,” Duke nodded an agreement, then looked at Nathan with a glint in his eye. “Familiarity isn't everything though.”

“No,” agreed Nathan. No, there was something appealing about the new sometimes as well.

-

“So you play pool? Fancy a game?” asked Duke with a glance at the table.

It was quiet enough that no one was playing and Nathan nodded, “Just a sec,” he said and disappeared off towards the bar. He came back with two pool cues. “The table here is pretty decent, but the cues are … not. You can use my spare if you like,” he offered, handing Duke the slightly more battered of the two leather cases.

“You sure?” said Duke, hesitating. Nathan just shifted it closer still to Duke until he took it. “Thanks. So you play a lot I guess. Are you any good?”

Nathan shrugged, “I do alright. Haven't had much practice lately. Bit of a shortage of decent opponents.”

Duke laughed. “OK. Let's see what we can do about that,” he said, and just from the practiced way he set up the balls, Nathan could tell this was going to be an interesting game.


	3. Chapter 3

Duke picked up the cue he'd been offered by this frankly gorgeous stranger and tried to decide how to play it. He'd made some not-insignificant amounts of money hustling at pool in the past, but he didn't want to play this game like that. And in any case, he wasn't sure if he'd win - even this ‘spare’ was a damn nice cue.

Part of him wanted to let Nathan win, just so he'd have a reason to ask for another game. But he somehow felt sure that Nathan wouldn't take kindly to that if he realised. Duke gave a kind of internal shrug to himself - he would just play pool and see what happened. He could always adjust his strategy as they went along. It would make a refreshing change actually, to just play without an angle behind it.

And so they played, and he found they were pretty evenly matched. They talked and they drank too, and Duke was torn between concentrating on the game, and concentrating on flirting with this taciturn man who did not seem to be quite sure what he was doing there. Whether he regarded this as a date or just a game of pool was hard to say, but Duke knew he wanted to push it towards the former.

And so, he watched Nathan as he played. He watched his technique and he watched his shots, but he watched the man too. His movements were, not stiff exactly, but contained somehow; reserved. You wouldn't call him graceful. But, he looked strong. And damn but he had gorgeous hands.

-

Nathan racked up the next game while Duke went to get another round in. That was how many beers now? Nathan couldn't remember, and he wondered idly if that meant that the answer was “too many”. But, he was still winning at pool (though only just), so the alcohol couldn't be affecting him too much, and he decided not to worry about it. At least he had tomorrow off work.

He watched Duke walk across the room realising that, while the alcohol might not be getting to him, Duke absolutely was.

Nathan hadn't been sure what to make of him when he'd first sat down. At one point he'd figured maybe he’d get a few good games of pool and that would be worth it. And if Duke wasn't settled in town then maybe there wasn't anything more long-term than that on offer anyway.

But he'd quickly found himself liking this cocky-ass pool player. He was charming, in fact; extremely so. He was funny, and interesting and it was nice to play for once against someone he was actually in danger of losing to. And he made good company; he was just chatty enough, he was just interested enough when Nathan talked, and he had that way of smiling at you that made you feel like you were the only thing he ever wanted to look at again.

And so, given all that, during the course of the evening Nathan began to look at Duke differently, to _really_ look at him, and to find it hard to tear his eyes away.

-

They played a few more games, between trying to stare at each other while the other wasn't looking, and between conversation that was pestering out into shared grins and repeated toasts, with a double-tap of the bottles that had somehow become normal in the course of one evening after that first accidental fumble.

And then the bar was closing and they were turfed out into the car park.

“So Nate … Can I call you Nate?”

Part of his brain replying _You can call me any damn thing you like_ , Nathan restricted his external response to a shrug and a, “Sure.”

Duke began again, “So Nate, what now?”

This was a good question on many levels, not least a practical one, since he was way past safe to drive and while his place wasn't far by car, he didn't really fancy walking it.

“Well …”

“Anywhere else in Haven open this time of night?”

Nathan laughed. “No,” he said.

“OK, well … I may have a bottle of whiskey in my hotel room that I was saving until I had some company.”

“Oh? But I don't want to drink your best whiskey.”

“Well it's not my best whiskey - second best maybe. You offered me your second best pool cue after all,” Duke pointed out.

“That …” Nathan wanted to say something to disagree, but realised that was in fact true. He looked at Duke looking at him and he wanted to say something else, but he could not somehow find the words.

“Or, you know. You could just come back to my room with me. We don't have to drink anything.”

Nathan hesitated just a moment longer before he replied. “Where are you staying?”


	4. Chapter 4

The answer helped Nathan make his decision (the ‘Over The Way’ Bed & Breakfast was the nearest of the few potential options for where Duke might be staying), but it also made him happy for reasons beyond that, reasons his slightly inebriated brain didn't want to own up to. Reasons like the fact that it was a nice place and he was glad Duke was staying somewhere decent, reasons like it meant Duke was seeing a good side of Haven and that might make him more likely to stay in town for a while.

They didn't speak much as they walked along the coast. Duke offered a, “Pretty little town you got here,” and Nathan nodded, but he couldn't think of much to add.

“You picked a nice place to see it from,” he added as they walked along the veranda to Duke’s room.

“It is a nice place,” Duke agreed as he opened the door, “Although I can't take any credit for making a discerning choice - it was the first place I found with available rooms when I got here.”

“You didn't plan ahead?” asked Nathan, sounding vaguely horrified at the idea.

“Plan ahead?” echoed Duke as he produced a couple of glasses and a whiskey bottle. “Not really my style. Doesn't stop me making discerning choices though,” he added with a thoughtful glance at the whiskey and then a much longer one directed at Nathan.

Nathan looked back, unsure what to say, unsure what to do. He felt suddenly self-conscious, awkward in his body; he didn't know what to do with his hands, how to stand. This whole evening, from the phone call on, had felt like it might be leading to something. And now here they were, alone in a bedroom at the end of the night, and he didn't know what to say, wasn't sure what to do; was suddenly too conscious of the possibility of messing it up.

Duke held his gaze for a long moment, then poured a generous whiskey and stepped over to hand it to him. Nathan held his gaze as he wrapped his hand around the glass and around Duke’s fingers and felt his heart speed up a little in his chest, when Duke left his hand just where it was.

It was another long moment before Nathan realised he could take the glass from Duke’s grip rather than waiting for him to relinquish it. And he took a long gulp, grateful for the intense hit of alcohol to steady his nerves.

And then he took another, slower sip, savouring the taste. “I don't know that much about whiskey, but this is good stuff,” he said appreciatively.

“Nothing but the second-best,” Duke grinned. “Now how about you?” he asked as he took Nathan's glass from him and put both down out of the way, “Are you ready to make a discerning choice?”

Nathan was puzzled for a moment what he meant, but Duke took a step closer to Nathan, their bodies almost touching, reached a hand to his arm, and leant forward, Nathan making his final decision for the night not to move away, but instead to lean in for the kiss. To kiss back.

It was a long time since Nathan had kissed anyone, longer still since he'd kissed a man. It had been long enough that it felt almost like something entirely new, and he kissed back hesitantly at first, before quickening his movements as he soaked up the feeling.

And for a moment, he held his body still, reacting almost as little as possible, his hands frozen into inaction at his sides, before he reached both up to rest on Duke's arms. He moved his palms to rest lightly on Duke's back before wrapping his arms tight around his body, pulling them close together as he sought out all the touch, the closeness, the sensation he could get.

He felt Duke’s hands at his jaw and then brushing over his ears on their way to push into his hair at the base of his skull. He heard a little moan of pleasure from Duke and grinned to himself. And then he found himself literally grinning at him, as Duke moved back with a hand on Nathan's shoulder to create a little space between them.

“You smell amazing,” breathed Nathan.

Duke’s eyes ran over his face as though looking for something; he didn't know what. Whatever it was presumably he found it, because then his hands were tight against Nathan's shoulder and ribs as he took a step forward and pushed them both close against the wall.

They kissed again as their hands explored each other's torsos, running over shoulder blades and down spines, across ribs and over stomachs. They tasted each other beneath the whiskey and they heard their breath grow quicker and heavier in between kisses.

-

Duke held Nathan against the wall to push a little distance between them again; just enough that he could get to the buttons on the shirt that he wanted off Nathan's chest. Nathan's hands pushed up Duke’s ribs and he took another step back to quickly pull his t-shirt off, moving straight back for another kiss as he worked at the last few buttons on Nathan's shirt.

He did not know what Nathan might want to do tonight, but either way, he was glad now that idiot at the club last night had given him the wrong number.

He was reaching for the last button on Nathan's shirt when their was a crashing sound from outside, a scream and more shouts, curses. It sounded like a car crash maybe, something like that. Not serious enough that there weren't still people able to shout at each other.

They had both stopped in surprise at the noise, but now Duke dismissed it as not worth investigating right now; nothing to do with them, nowhere near as interesting as what they were doing, and with the doors either side of them opening and more voices joining in, probably not much more they could do anyway.

He reached for Nathan's shirt again, but Nathan moved his hand away - not harshly, reluctantly it seemed, but firmly nonetheless.

“Leave it for the police,” said Duke, moving in for another kiss. But he stopped when he saw the grimace on Nathan's face. It hit him a moment later, “You are police,” he said flatly, just about managing to keep the flurry of inventive swear words that were running through his head to himself.

Nathan just nodded, added a short, “Sorry,” as he did a few buttons up, and then he was gone.

Duke watched him leave, closed the door and poured himself a generous measure of the fine bootleg whiskey, knocking it back in one. “FUCK!” he swore at the wall. _He’s a cop? Why did he have to be cop?_


	5. Chapter 5

Nathan did a few more buttons up as he made his way around the building to the road. _So much for that then_ , he thought. That was the end of forgetting about work for a while, and judging by the look of horror in Duke's eyes when he realised, it was probably the end of … whatever it was they'd had going between them as well.

Nathan was realistic enough to realise that not everyone liked the police. There were people, plenty of decent, law abiding people, who felt nervous and judged in the company of a police officer. Most of them tried to hide it better than Duke had, but then it had been a surprise, and an unpleasant one at that. They had been having a good time and he couldn't blame Duke for a moment of annoyance.

But, he couldn't pretend to himself that he wasn't a cop, and now he couldn't pretend to Duke either. So, _that was that_. Still, it had been fun.

And then he was at the road and felt another grimace cross his face at the sight of a multiple pile-up. He didn't have his police radio with him, but he pulled out his phone and called his own line at the station, waiting impatiently until someone picked up and he could bark orders at them.

Back-up and ambulances on the way, he went to see what he could do in the meantime.

-

“FUCK!” Duke swore again and almost threw the glass at the wall in frustration, but contented himself with shouting at the wall instead. He very carefully and deliberately put the glass down, then started pacing in the small space.

He was dimly aware he was possibly over reacting. Nathan had no reason to suspect him of anything - he wasn't even running a con right now. Still, it was disconcerting was what it was. So, he paced. He moved a few things out of sight, looked around the room, moved a couple things more.

If someone decided to search the place, he would be in trouble, but it didn't seem like Nathan had been working an angle. Although… no. Duke had to remind himself that he was the one who’d called Nathan. The guy had probably just been trying to have a night off.

Still, Duke considered his options. He could pack up and skip town right now, but running out on his bill only would give Nathan a reason to arrest him. He could check out in the morning, although the chance of getting any sleep in the meantime was pretty near zero, not least because of the increasing number of sirens congregating outside.

He looked around the room again. There was nothing obviously illegal, and he had done nothing to attract police attention since he'd arrived in Haven. And there was no reason to think anyone in Maine was looking for him.

He could therefore, go and see if there was anything he could do to help. Judging by the noise the sirens were making it was a pretty serious crash. He sighed, pulled on a sweater and stepped outside.


	6. Chapter 6

When he got to the road, he found a lot of dazed looking people sitting on the sidewalk with cuts and bruises. The police were busy preventing any more traffic from joining in, and the paramedics seem to be engaged in trying to treat someone lying on the tarmac in front of a 4x4 skewed at an odd angle across the road. Then he spotted a mangled bike a little way in front and grimaced. Getting knocked off a bike by anything was no fun.

There was a smaller family car behind with a smashed up bumper. Nathan seemed to be trying to help the blood-covered driver and calm down the kids in the back at the same time.

Duke walked up to the car and opened the back door. Fortunately, the kids had been well strapped into their car seats and did not seem to be injured. They were freaked out though, understandably so.

Duke resisted the urge to grin at them and joke around - he doubted even he could make them laugh right now and in any case that probably wasn't what they needed. He crouched down so he wasn't towering over them.

“Hey,” he said, “I'm Duke. I see Nathan is helping your mom, so I'm going to help you get out of the car, OK? We won't go anywhere yet, we'll just get you out into the fresh air, alright?”

The two boys looked at him with big scared eyes and nodded. The older one was maybe eight years old, the younger probably no more than four.

He got them out of the car, one eye on Nathan and the woman the whole time. She had a bloody nose and her leg had been trapped by something, but it looked like Nathan had got her free. Her injuries didn't look life threatening, just painful and bloody, and scary for the kids to see.

He ducked down to their level again, talking to them to try and keep them calm until another ambulance arrived. Which wasn't too long as it happened, Nathan waving them over and talking to the paramedics while they got the woman inside.

It was the younger boy, Max, who noticed first that their mother was no longer where she had been a minute ago. The older one, John, was focused on his younger brother, watching Duke talking to him, wanting to look out for him. Duke thought it was very sweet.

It didn't take long though for them to both get upset that mom was out of sight, and Duke couldn't blame them. He stood up to ask Nathan what was going to happen to the kids and Max, apparently afraid that his new friend was going to leave too, clung tight to his leg, even as he kept screaming for his mom.

“Can they go with her?” Duke asked Nathan.

“She barely conscious,” Nathan pointed out.

“I know but they're freaking out.”

Nathan turned to the paramedic for a final verdict.

“Sorry Chief, it's against policy to have unescorted kids in the back. Unless they're the patient, obviously,” he added, somewhat unnecessarily.

“I don't think he's going to let go of Duke anyway, and I was hoping to come with you since I should get down to the hospital. Does it work if we come with them Rich?”

Rich thought about this with a glance back at his patient. “It's not policy,” he said. “But she's stable, and it looks like they trust him. So fine, as it’s you. Just no one touch anything.” He added with exaggerated seriousness and aimed it at all four of them.

Duke, still concentrating on not showing too much reaction to the realisation that Nathan was apparently not merely _a cop_ , but the actual _Chief of Police_ , crouched back down to kid-height and said, equally seriously, “I think we'd better do as he says, don't you?”

Having received two solemn nods from the kids in reply, they all got in the back of the ambulance. Duke thought it was as well their mom had passed out (from the shock and the blood loss it seemed); she looked almost peaceful now and the kids didn't have to see her in pain or worrying about them.

-

They made it to the hospital without incident, and Irene was quickly assessed and given a bed. Her sons were still reluctant to part with Duke, ( _The guy obviously has a knack with kids_ , thought Nathan), and he agreed to sit with them while they waited for their Dad to arrive, Nathan having retrieved her wallet and spoken to him. They'd been delayed on the way home from her parents and he'd been waiting for news, about to consider driving round town to look for them, which Nathan was glad he hadn't done.

So he left them with Duke and went to check on the other victims, speaking to those who could talk and getting a prognosis from the doctor for those who couldn't. He called the station again as well for a progress report from the scene. He felt a little lost without his police radio, but it seemed like things were getting under control. At least people in the hospital knew who he was, he thought wryly; maybe there were some advantages to never really being off duty after all.

What with all that, it was almost morning by the time he got a chance to check back in on Duke. He was sat between the two boys who were asleep either side of him, their heads on his lap.

Irene’s husband was by her bedside talking to one of the doctors and darting grateful glances Dukes way. It looked like the conversation was mostly good news, or as good as could be expected, anyway.

“Buy you breakfast?” Nathan asked Duke.


	7. Chapter 7

Duke was pleasantly surprised to find that, small though the hospital was, it had a pretty decent-looking cafe.

“You don't have to buy, you know.”

“Take it as an apology, or a thank you. That family really appreciated it and you didn't have to help out.”

“It was a close thing to be honest. I almost went with plan A.”

“Which was?”

“Drink enough of that whiskey that I could sleep through the noise.”

Duke was only half joking, but Nathan laughed all the same. “Well, you came through,” said Nathan, “and those kids loved you. I'm not sure what we would have done with them otherwise.”

Duke didn't really have a reply to that, so he was glad it was time to order. “I'll have the combo breakfast plate, with any optional extras you got.”

“Hungry?” asked Nathan, amused.

“Aren't you?” Duke replied.

Nathan just shrugged and ordered the pancakes.

“Oh wow, isn't it too early in the morning for pancakes?”

“Too early?” Nathan considered the idea, but only briefly. “It's a bit of a tradition, since my dad would bring me here as a kid to visit mom before she died.”

“Oh I'm sorry, I didn't …”

“It's fine, really. It was the only time dad would let me eat something as frivolous as pancakes, and we would sit just the two of us and talk. I don't remember her very well, but it's a nice memory of him.”

“He's gone as well?” asked Duke softly.

Nathan nodded, “He was Chief of Police before me.”

Duke thought he'd done a pretty good job of hiding his reaction of mild alarm at the word ‘police’ during breakfast, but evidently not as good as he thought, because Nathan saw it.

“Gotta say; the look on your face when you realised what I do for a living, I didn't think I'd see you again.”

“You didn't hear the swearing after you closed the door. At least I don't _think_ I shouted that loudly. I was surprised, it's true. You didn't seem like the police type.”

“I'm not sure whether to be flattered or offended.”

“Both?” suggested Duke.

“I know cops can make people uneasy. I wanted a night off - a real night off, from being a cop. It doesn't happen often in a small town like this; people know who I am. But it's good that you know. I probably should have told you. At least before we did anything more …”

Duke waved this last point away. He was no more bothered by the possibility of sleeping with a cop without knowing it than by inviting a cop into his room without knowing it - room or bed, the point was the same.

“I may have over reacted a little. I was slightly drunk,” he added in his defence. “Which was more fun than becoming hungover while you're still awake. I usually tend to sleep through this part.”

Nathan watched him tucking into his plate of food, “That helping?”

Duke nodded around a mouthful of food. “Good pancakes?”

“They are.”

“Thanks,” Duke said. “For buying. This is nice. Of course it's not exactly the scenario I’d hoped we might be sharing breakfast in, but I'll take it.”

“The badge hasn't put you off then?” Nathan asked, sounding a little surprised.

“No, no I think it will take more than that to put me off you Nathan… I just realised I don't know your surname.”

“Wuornos.”

Duke nodded, something else having occurred to him. Nathan was Chief of Police, used to the familiar, not used to going to bed with strangers from the sound of it. Was he risk adverse enough to have run a background check on Duke before they met? If he had would he still be here? Could Duke ask - was there any way to find out that didn't risk ruining things? He eventually concluded the answer to that was ‘No’ and decided to change the subject.

“So the others are going to be OK? The cyclist?”

Nathan nodded. “Sounds like some of them will be spending a fair amount of time here, but yes they should all be OK. I just need to check on one thing before we leave.”

Duke didn't comment on it, but he was glad to notice the “we” in that sentence. Even if it didn't necessarily mean that much, it was kind of promising.


	8. Chapter 8

Breakfast finished and patients checked up on, Duke and Nathan walked out into the somehow-surprising daylight.

“Do you want to share a taxi back to the bar? I need to pick up my car and I can drop you at the B&B if you like?”

“Sounds good, Thanks,” Duke replied. 

They passed both the taxi and car journeys in companionable and slightly sleepy silence. When they got to the B&B, Nathan turned off the engine, and Duke was thinking about inviting him in when Nathan spoke first.

“I wanted to say …” he began, then stopped and tried again. “I don't know whether the nice thing to do is to ask why you have a negative reaction to the police, or to not ask. There could be a lot of reasons; I know not everyone likes hanging out with cops and I don't take it personally. So … I don't go out of my way to investigate my friends. Or people who help scared children at the scene of traffic accidents. Or the best … pool partner I've had in a while. Especially if any … non-legal activities they might have been involved with have not hurt anyone in Haven.”

“Nathan, I…”

“... But this town means a lot to me and so does my job, and I won't hesitate to do it if I need to. Even against friends.”

Duke paused at that, reconsidering what he'd been about to say. “We don't know each other very well yet, so I'll spell this out. I don't make a habit of hurting anyone. I might not live my life the way most people do, and I might not have quite the same relationship to the law that a lot of people do, but it isn't out of a desire to hurt people or to take from good people what they can't afford to lose.

“And it’s true that I don't like the police, not as a rule. But rules are made to be broken I guess. Or maybe not; maybe that's not the best phrase here. You probably do not like breaking the rules. Sometimes rules do have exceptions though?”

Nathan nodded. “Maybe we can make an exception for each other.”

“Maybe we can. It's worth a try anyway, right?”

“Right. Tonight I need to catch up on sleep, but you want to meet here tomorrow for another game?”

“Sounds like a plan. See you then.”

-

The next day, Nathan finished work on time for once, and went home to change. He was looking forward to meeting up with Duke, and he was kind of surprised how little their conversation about the police had affected that.

It had been nice to spend the evening drinking with someone who didn't know he was a cop, but there was something nice about Duke knowing, as well. His job was part of who he was after all, and while he wasn't planning to talk about it much, he found himself glad of the honesty that having it out in the open represented.

He had been trying not to look forward to tonight too much though, reminding himself it was entirely possible Duke wouldn't be there. He could easily have left town as soon as Nathan had dropped him off, hell he could be in Mexico by now if he wanted.

So Nathan was very happy to see him at the same table as last time, the same two bottles of beer in front of him.

He sat down and they double-clinked their bottles again; it was a tradition already and that stoked the nice little warm feeling in Nathan's chest; he liked traditions.

-

This evening went much like the last one had, though Nathan drank more slowly - this time he did have work in the morning. And today, Duke won noticeably more games than Nathan. 

“Am I having a bad day, or were you holding back last time? Nathan asked him.

“um… maybe a little of both?” Duke suggested.

“hmmm. Remind me never to take a bet with you,” said Nathan.

“Of course, it is possible I was also distracted last time, trying to work out whether or not you were thinking of the evening in terms of a date.”

“Ah.”

-

They left before closing this time, walking along the coast road at dusk in what Nathan joked came perilously close to the cliched long walk on the beach at sunset.

“Well, might be nice to add a little normality after the other night,” replied Duke. 

“Really? Didn't have you pegged as someone who'd value normality.”

“No, not necessarily. But sometimes, some things. I'm thinking I might try a bit if normality for a while and Haven seems like as good a place as any to give it a go. You know of any jobs going round here?”

Nathan was surprised, “I … Actually, Bill and Jeff at the Second Chance Bistro just lost their bar manager. If you have any experience with bar work, they might be interested in some help.”

“Do I have experience with bar work? Hmmm” Duke replied in mock thoughtfulness. “Yeah that might work. Practically ran the place in my home town for a while. I'll go speak to them tomorrow. Thanks.”

Nathan shrugged, feeling that a little local gossip was not worth being thanked over. And then they were at the B&B. Duke let them in, saying, “I'm just realising that I don't have anything besides the whiskey, so if you're done drinking for the night, I don't really have much else to offer.”

“I am done drinking, but you have plenty of offer,” replied Nathan as he shut the door behind him. Duke turned towards him and Nathan returned his gaze, everything still for a moment. And then, Duke crossed the room in two long strides, reaching for Nathan to pull him into a kiss, even as his forward momentum pushed them back against the door.

Nathan reached his hands up to Duke’s hair as he kissed back, a distant part of his brain hoping that nothing particular would happen outside tonight.


	9. Chapter 9

As they kissed, their hands moved down each other's bodies, finding shoulder blades, chests and hips, and slipping underneath fabric. Nathan pushed Duke's t-shirt up his ribs and Duke shivered as Nathan's fingers ran over his now-bare skin.

As Duke reached under Nathan's t-shirt, Nathan pulled it over his own head. He started to push Duke backwards towards the bed, then stopped, his hand resting in the centre of Duke’s chest.

Duke saw the hesitation and asked, “Having second thoughts?”

“No. No, it's just … it's been a while. A long time since I was with a guy.”

Duke reached up to kiss him again, soft and gentle before he pulled away. “No pressure, we don't have to do anything in particular. We could spend the whole evening like this and I'd be happy.”

Nathan blinked at him for a long moment, wondering how this man he hardly knew, and who seemed to be so little like him, could find the exact words most able to put him thoroughly at his ease. 

And having no words himself he kissed Duke again, slow and firm, deep and long. Duke kissed back but not too hard; he let the pressure of Nathan's kiss push them backwards until they found the bed. And then Duke leant backwards to lie down, gently pulling Nathan down on top of him.

Their bodies pressed together, skin to skin along their chests and stomach as they kissed, Duke's hands running down Nathan's spine to his ass to pull their hips closer together, Nathan reaching a hand to tangle his fingers in Duke's hair.

They lay like that for a long while, Duke enjoying the weight of the other man above him, Nathan reassured by the measure of control it gave him; the ability to set the pace.

And so they kissed slowly, deep and intense but slow, savouring the moment, savouring each other. Duke pushed his fingers slowly beneath Nathan's waistband, firm against his skin as he pushed down into his underwear. 

When Duke ran his hands up Nathan’s back again, Nathan shifted his weight more to the side, moving to lie on the bed instead, and for a moment it seemed to Duke that he was moving away. But then his hand found Duke's chest, wandered over his skin as Nathan tracked the movement with his eyes, lingering on Duke’s tattoos, tracing the lines of the muscles and bones under his skin.

Duke watched him watching him. Nathan was so focused on what he was doing that Duke felt almost like he was being studied. It was intense, the force of Nathan's gaze and it took him a minute before he decided he liked it. He stretched out under Nathan's touch, murmuring in appreciation as Nathan's fingers ran down the centre of his chest, over his belly button and down to his belt.

“I …” Nathan began. “I mean, do you …?”

“I am up for anything you want to do.”

“That's a pretty all encompassing statement,” pointed out Nathan.

“Well, I guess I have some limits, but we are very far away from them trust me. If you want to set the pace then go for it, I'm good. What I mean to say is I'm very happy with the idea of you getting me out of my clothes, if that's what you had in mind.”

Nathan sat up to undo Duke’s belt and pull his jeans down his legs. “We could get you out of your clothes as well if you like,” Duke pointed out 

“One thing at a time,” replied Nathan, pulling Duke’s jeans over his feet and returning to the same spot at his side. Duke reached up to kiss him, hooking a leg around Nathan's to pull him further down again. Nathan went a certain way then resisted, leaving enough of a gap between them that he could still reach his hand to Duke’s chest, still look him in the eye.

“Lie back for me,” said Nathan.

Duke was not normally wildly keen on being told what to do in any context, the bedroom included. But he found there was something in the way Nathan said it that made it work. It was not a command or an order (though he was somehow aware it could have been). It was not desperate either; he wasn’t begging. It was too controlled for that. All the same there was something intense and forceful about it; a hard note of desire and an edge to it that said it will be fun for you. Altogether it would have been a hard thing to say ‘no’ to, but Duke realised he didn’t want to. So he unwrapped his leg from around Nathan’s, leant his head back and stretched his arms out along the sheets either side of him. 

And he felt Nathan’s gaze looking down on his face, almost as much as he felt his palm running over his skin, nails running over his nipples, fingers reaching for his erection. Duke opened his eyes again then, to see Nathan still looking down at him. And Duke looked back, feeling the force of that gaze and the connection it represented as he held that eye contact with Nathan, pinned to the sheets by a look and held in place by a hand on his cock.

And Nathan took his time with it, watching Duke’s reactions all the while; listening for every little moan and hitch of his breath, watching for every tilt of the head and bite of the lip. And maybe it showed that Nathan hadn’t been to bed with a guy for a while, but maybe it didn’t matter because Duke felt held so tightly in that moment. Not in a way he couldn’t escape, but just in the sense of feeling cherished.

And every little movement of Nathan’s hand, or his fingers, brought Duke just that little bit closer, until his breaths were ragged, he didn’t hear his own moans anymore and he finally had to close his eyes against the intensity of the moment.

-

Nathan watched Duke close his eyes and knew he was close. He wasn’t sure whether to be glad or sad at the loss of eye contact, but he was glad to watch Duke’s face in that moment. And in the next moment, as Duke’s shouts just started to fade, Nathan leant down for a kiss, Duke kissing back fiercely, pulling Nathan to him as he moaned through the last waves of his pleasure.

Nathan pulled back out of the kiss and looked down to see Duke grinning up at him.

“I’m just gonna …” Duke said gesturing towards the bathroom, and Nathan moved to the side to let him up. He wasn’t gone long though and Nathan had not moved far by the time he came back.

Duke straddled him and reached for his belt. “You happy to lie back for me now?”

“Yes,” replied Nathan, doing just that as Duke got him out of his remaining clothes and came back up the bed for a kiss. And he kissed Nathan’s neck, his collarbone and shoulder. He kissed his chest, his nipples, and his stomach and worked his way down Nathan’s body, tasting his skin.

-

Duke’s hands rested on Nathan’s hips as he heard a hitch in the other man’s breath. Unsure for a moment if that was excitement or hesitation, he hesitated himself, “You find yourself with any second thoughts after all, you just let me know.”

Duke saw a brief little grin flash over Nathan’s face before an equally brief reply, “No thoughts.”

So Duke planted a trail of little kisses from belly button down, gratified to hear the deep moan of pleasure from Nathan when he took his cock into his mouth. He reached one hand around his hip to grab his ass, and another up his stomach towards his chest, nails lightly scratching and tongue pressing against skin. 

He grinned to himself as he felt Nathan struggle to keep still beneath him. He didn’t hold back and it wasn’t too long before Nathan came with a shout, Duke’s hands back on his hips the only thing stopping him from pushing off the bed.


	10. Chapter 10

They lay on the bed together for a while, running their eyes and their hands lazily over each other. It was Nathan who spoke first.

"I better go; I have an early start tomorrow.”

“Well, you’re welcome to stay if you like, but you should know I'm not all that good at early mornings.”

Nathan smiled at the offer, such as it was, “Thanks. I'll go.”

“Will I see you at the bar tomorrow tonight?” Duke asked.

Nathan thought about it. Half-keen to say ‘Yes’, half-keen not to fall into anything too fast. “Not tomorrow,” he said. “Day after?”

“Sure,” replied Duke easily. “See you there.”

Duke lay sprawled across the bed, propped up on one elbow. Nathan threw on his shirt and did up a few buttons before leaning down to kiss Duke goodbye.

“See you there,” he said, adding, “Sleep well.”

Duke pulled him down for another quick kiss before replying, “Oh I will. You too.”

As Nathan made his way home, he felt the smile on his face. Tomorrow night at home would be a good thing; some time to himself. But he was looking forward to the night after already.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While it is always possible that I'll write more for this, that's it for now. Hope you enjoyed!


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